Caritas works to stay ahead of floods

As rains and flash floods drenched the country once again, Amjad Gulzar, executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan said:Â Â â€śOur teams are already in the field. We had been monitoring the heavy monsoon for a month and feared more damage."

At least 78 people have died and many have been injured in this week's floods, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. More than 1,600 houses have been damaged.

There has been urban flooding in Hyderabad, Quetta, and Multan dioceses, yet most victimsâ€™ houses had not been fixed from last year, said Gulzar.Â Caritas Pakistan has sent assessment teams to the three dioceses as the organization prepares for another flood relief appeal.

â€śAbout 20 Christian families, most of them laborers and peasants, have had their ceilings collapse. A Catholic school is inundated with water from neighboring villages and has been closed,â€ť said Father Ishaq Ghulam.

Flood water in the cities is also causing trouble in the southern province of Sindh. â€śIt is hard to reach offices and schools. We are getting informationÂ about damaged houses in Christian slumsÂ in at least four districts,â€ť said Father Samson Shukardin, vicar-general of Hyderabad diocese.